Not Controlling Your Kids in Public is Heckling | Moms

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I have little tolerance for hecklers. I'm talking about those annoying people who sit among you at performances and shout out dumb things at entertainers on stage when their interaction isn't being solicited.

They drive me nuts for a couple of reasons. The biggest one is that they honestly seem to think that the rest of the audience will be impressed and amused by what they deem a clever interruption. It's that same lack of self-awareness that leads them to believe that, by injecting themselves into a performance, they've somehow attained the same level of stature as the performer. It makes them important in their eyes, and they consider themselves an added bonus to an audience who showed up expecting to be entertained by just one person, but came away gaining oh so much more.

The reality, of course, is that hecklers only disrupt the flow of a show and embarrass and irritate those sitting around them.

There's a different type of heckling that I've noticed more and more in recent years, and it comes from the parents of young children. These parents probably don't even realize they're heckling, but that's exactly what they're doing when they let their kids wander into the middle of performance, and leave it up to the performer to have to deal with them.

I saw a recent example of this a couple of weeks ago, when my family went to a magic show at a local library. The magician was quite good, and the audience (most of whom were children) was really enjoying the performance.

Prior to the show, the magician created a line on the floor with masking tape, in front of her props and speakers. She asked repeatedly that no one cross that line during the show because she needed enough room to perform.

Just about everyone complied with her request. The exception, however, was a little girl (probably 4 or 5 years old) who was so enamored with what was going on that she kept standing up and walking across the line, right into the middle of whatever the magician was doing. This behavior repeatedly forced the magician to put her show on hold while she attended to the child and asked her to return to her seat. This wasn't always such an easy thing to do, considering that her act consisted of juggling and other actions that required a lot of focus and the use of both of her hands.

Now, I don't blame the child for the interruptions. She was young and was captured in the moment. I do blame her mother, however, who was seated close by and never made a single attempt to rein in her daughter. The mother just sat there and watched. At times she would even smirk, as if what her daughter was doing was cute. She clearly assumed the rest of the audience felt so as well, because she would glance around the room with that smirk, hoping to see other people wearing the same expression on their faces.

Well, it wasn't cute. It was annoying - not just for the audience but especially for the magician. The refusal of the mother to keep her daughter in check was a clear display of disrespect, and yes... It was a form of heckling.

I'm sure it wasn't anything the magician hadn't dealt with before, but it shouldn't have to be part of her job - even though her act caters to children. It's the job of a parent to keep a watchful eye over their children, and step in and stop them from doing things that are inappropriate and disruptive.

The chaos caused by one's child shouldn't be worn by a parent as a badge of honor. There's nothing honorable about disrespecting someone - especially someone who's just trying to do their job.

I would ask parents to think about this when they take their kids to shows. I realize that we each view our children as the biggest stars in any given setting, but that doesn't mean they should get top billing above everyone else. Please respect those who are trying to entertain you. It's a tough enough job as it is.